DEMOLISHED!
...Kamwala traders rise in anger
THE overnight demolition and destruction of Luburma market stalls has infuriated traders.
Irate traders, youths, men and women cried uncontrollably as they found rubble where their stalls stood. Nothing but dust and mingled metal, and broken blanks stood where they had left their shelves stocked with goods for sale. The traders, seething with anger, burnt tyres and blocked roads in the Kamwala area seemingly unconcerned about being arrested. “We are angry. Why are we being treated unfairly and Chinese being favoured. Our children will die because now our lives have been destroyed, “youths told the Daily Nation.
President Edgar Lungu has been asked to intervene because the affected people are youths who have empowered themselves to start business instead of turning to vices.
The traders wondered under whose authority their stalls were destroyed with properties inside.
Shocked and angry, the traders, wondered whether the favoured investor have ever voted, and why people who get up early to cast votes are being mistreated in favour of investors.
The early morning demolition took everyone by surprise, including area ward councilor, Moses Bwalya, who cried with the traders and wondered why he was not informed or the market executive committee so that people could have been advised to remove their property.
It is believed that the investor has been given a 65 year lease and some of the shops at the new market would be leased out to the traders.
Some traders mostly young people complained that the market management ran by a Chinese company have been positioned to benefit from the modern market built under a 65 year-lease, to the disadvantage of the Zambian traders.
The youths complained that it was a mistake to give the famous Luburma Market management to the Chinese who charged traders in United States dollars (US $) per store when the structure should have been for the benefit of the poor Zambians.
“As Kamwala youths we are very disturbed at the loss of our businesses because we have nowhere to run. We are the voters. We have supported the Pres- ident’s move to clean up the city, but they destroy our businesses, all our products and our trading places have been demolished,” they said.
They complained that the huge capital investments into their business has been destroyed with most of the items stolen in the demolition exercise carried out in the absence of the owners.
They have called on the Republican President Edgar Lungu to come to their aid to secure their trading place at the market so that they do not engage in wrongs activities especially with the 65 years lease agreement that has clearly disadvantaged Zambians at Luburma market. They complained that with all the money the Chinese were making, that they would never plough back in the economy, adding that “we are the ones who voted for you, not these Chinese. Please help revise the 65 year lease agreement”.
“Ise tebene bake tivutika tiuka kuseniseni kuti ti gulitse tigulise, tipeze nkhalo. Timachelela kuenda muku voter, kuti tisale ba Kateka, Tate wathu otisunga.
“Tichita support nkhani ya cleaniliness, manje kuti babwele usiku kutipwanyila katundu. Ba Lungu titandizeni kuli iyi issue. Batate ndimwe, tapapata mutitandizeko,” they said.
(We wake up early in the morning top come and sale so that we earn a living. We wake up early to go and vote for a President, who will look after us. We are in support of the clean campaign by the President, but why come in the middle of the night to demolish and destroy our properties, Please Our Father of the Nation, the President, please help us).